News that a gunman killed 27 people, including 20 young children at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., left the nation and local residents reeling. It also raises questions about what to say -- and how much to say -- to students old enough to understand.

Experts urge parents to use their instincts and avoid a barrage of TV coverage.

Arcata Elementary School Principal Margaret Flenner said it was an emotional day, with parents struggling to figure out what to say about the killings.

"We do have a couple of parents who wanted to come in and give their kids a hug," she said.

One father picked up his children to take spend time with them at the beach.

The shootings generated an outpouring of support for the families touched by the tragedy.

"There are no words to describe the sorrow I am feeling at this moment. Please take a moment to pray or 'send positive vibes' for the families affected by this tragedy," one Times-Standard reader wrote. "That is to say, there isn't a family in America that isn't affected by this tragedy. Please let us come together and cease this lack of compassion we have for each other."

Dr. Joseph Wright, senior vice president of the Child Health Advocacy Institute, said limiting that exposure is all the more important for children given the young age of the victims.

"This is an unprecedented type of event," Wright said. "This mass shooting involved the youngest group of children that I can recall. ... The potential impact, because of the age of these kids, is something that needs to be paid very special attention to."

Wright said he is concerned that children haven't yet developed the ability to think outside of a concrete framework.

"What they see happening to a child in Connecticut may feel quite directly is a threat to them," he said. "Parents can not assume that their children will even understand what they're seeing, what they're hearing, particularly because younger children are not at a stage of cognitive development where they can even process it."